Brad Davis

Brad Davis was an American actor who took the stage name Brad in 1973 and worked in film, television, and theater. Born in Tallahassee, Florida, he won a music-talent contest as a teenager, which led to work at Theater Atlanta; he later trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and appeared Off-Broadway. A role in 1974 on the serial How to Survive a Marriage preceded casting in the miniseries Roots in 1976. His breakthrough was Billy Hayes in Midnight Express (1978), earning him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year plus Best Actor nominations at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. Later films included A Small Circle of Friends, Chariots of Fire (1981), the title part in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle (1982), and Cold Steel (1987). He also acted in The Normal Heart and The Metamorphosis on stage and in television films such as The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990). He died in 1991.